A "hearty THANK YOU" to all members of the EAK-members for the vote, and the confidence we have shown! The new elections 2017 of the EUROFILMER Management Board have been concluded.

The discharge of the management committee was approved for the 2015/2016 legislative period.

Uwe Haase from Lübeck was again elected as president.Anni Bergauer from Ansbach was confirmed again as managing director.Dieter Schlemmermeier from Hamburg continues to take care of our finances.Helga and Reinhard Merke from Cologne again made themselves available as auditors and have also been re-elected.Wolfgang Thomas from Hamburg for the region North and Werner Scheffknecht from Bludenz for the filmmakers from Austria were re-elected.

The posits of vice-president and the representatives for D-West and D-South are temporarily unfilled.

Peter Klüver is in charge of the press / public relations department.The participation rate was 59.35%.

A cordial "thank you" goes to the two separate forum leaders of the regions D-West, Fritz Kümmel and D-South, Anton Wallner.

An interview with the EAK PresidentThe journey to Switzerland - EAK President Uwe Haase and LB Werner Scheffknecht visit the General Assembly of SIFA in Hausen

Eurofilmer:What intentions and expectations did you have, when you and Werner Scheffknecht went to visit the film enthusiasts in Switzerland?

Uwe Haase:The trigger was an assignment from the EAK board meeting of 10 to 12 February 2017 in Weidenbach. It was necessary to clarify what ideas the SIFA (the Swiss company of the film amateurs) represents in cooperation with the EAK. What do they expect from us? What can the EAK offer the Swiss? In what form can we establish cooperation on a reliable and free basis? What is the structural cooperation? Who represents the Swiss in the EAK?

Eurofilmer:Who did you talk to in Switzerland?

Uwe Haase:We had been invited by the President, Reto Stocker, and the ten-member board of the SIFA, and we received a warm welcome.

Eurofilmer:What exactly were the results of your conversations?

Uwe Haase:From the start this contact between our German delegation and the Swiss friends showed that we were in broad agreement but there was also a clear demarcation between the two associations. The Swiss have no interest in interfering with the intra-German EAK affairs. This also applies to the elections. The SIFA has its own structures which are binding on them. The interest of membership in the EAK is based on the possibility to show their own films at the respective international festivals in Germany. Added to this is a decade-long relationship and, in many cases, friendship that should be preserved and further developed.

Some clarification of the form of bicultural cooperation at association level was necessary; SIFA represents a third of all EAK members. For health reasons Hansruedi Wiget, a long-standing Swiss national, was not a candidate for the newly elected board. This gap must be filled. To my great pleasure, Martin Stumpf has agreed to think about working as a second chairman on the board of the EAK. This would not only close a gap, but at the same time ensure the continuity of long-term cooperation with Switzerland. Of course, Martin Stumpf needs time to think and, in addition, the approval of the SIFA headquarters.

It is very pleasing that Hansruedi Wiget will continue to serve as a jury commissioner for the EAK. For this I especially thank him!

Eurofilmer:How was your trip to Switzerland in a nutshell?

Uwe Haase:After years of uncertainty about the status of SIFA in relation to the EAK, it became clear that the Swiss film friends, being a completely self-sufficient organisation, saw the main point of their relationship with the EAK as the chance to show the films of their authors at the Euro-Filmfestivals. In addition, we have a creative friendship, which should be cared for as intensively as possible. Controversies, partly polemical, about internal matters of both associations are thus off the table. The entry regulations continue as before, and at the board level, we are going to welcome Martin Stumpf as a second vice-chairman of the EAK.

I can only thank our Swiss film friends and I am sure that the cordial connection between us, which was clearly felt at last year's Euro-Filmfestival in Ahrensburg, has now been put on a clear organisational basis. The friendly reception in the circle of the SIFA Board of Management and the intensive clarifying discussions were necessary and will strengthen our relationship for the long term. What connects us across the borders of our countries is the passion for international amateur film and we are looking forward to many more contacts, in line with our motto "where authors meet".

Film making is nice, but not cheap. Having a federation like the EAK is also nice, but successful federation work does not get easier with increasing costs. Your fees cover part of our activities, but there is another way for you to support our work and to avoid raising fees.

We are grateful for any donation, no matter how big, and would like to point out: We are a non-profit organisation and therefore, according to the Tax Office of the Finance Ministry, is entitled to issue donation certificates (official: grant confirmations).

First:I find it regrettable that certain aspects of our hobby are treated with emotional concern. Democracy, however, lives on the basis of the plurality of opinions. A different approach is not a personal offense, if it is presented as a value-neutral one.

So factually:The EAK / SIFA evaluation sheet used by the Eurofilmers is, in my opinion, only suitable for average travelogues and documentaries.

Anything beyond this, however, is in practice not sufficiently considered: e.g. Experimental films, artistic works which go against the grain, symbolic structures with meta-planes and thus multi-layered interpretations, parable-like fiction and animation films, etc.

This is mainly the case with average films - and if limited jurors are doing the assessment, there is a risk of misjudging, because the above mentioned genres, for example, are lacking the SPECIALISED evaluation point (where is the factual information?).

Even Walt Disney’s masterpiece "Fantasia" would have problems as an animation, because a single piece of music serves as its basis and in CAMERAWORK (exposure, sharpness, camera positioning, etc.) and in sound processing (ambient noise, sound effects and mixing) there would be no marks.

The quality of such films is precisely because of the departure from convention, and this leads to the general conclusion that our marking system, does not take sufficient account of creativity and originality that was in an older system once called "artistic design" and "spiritual content".

The artistic-spiritual value is precisely what is most important! Criteria that the system used to mark high !! (And by the way, would also highlight unusual travelogues / documentaries). This should come first !! perhaps before dealing with the technical work, wherever possible before the beginning of film-brainwashing.

For this "higher way," we set ourselves the task of dealing with a problem of the present, a way of life, etc. E.g. to present it as a parable, or in a different form, then people will appreciate how difficult it is, because you have no picture material, and all the structures are distorted and must work out for themselves a dramaturgical cut (see Disney).

The points of the ideas implemented in the current system only partially fulfils this requirement. And even if one of the other nine criteria were creatively re-interpreted, the problem would remain because the average quality films are already earning points.

Consideration of the creative aspect and of the "intellectual value", which could be found in all design criteria, would lead to the fact that extraordinary films would not be reduced to the average, and that imaginative productions as well as mundane dull jokes (mental value pretty much zero, dramaturgy predictable) would not be overestimated.

It would also mean that the level would rise and the number of medals decrease. This would be quite useful, so that if the relationships are not right, the medals of the better projects will be devalued (a reason for not taking part.)

Finally, for the sake of fairness, it must be added that the jurors of the past have in many cases been able to apply the nine criteria of our system flexibly.

In summary, however, the statement that creativity, spiritual value, artistic design, whatever it may be called, must be much more valued and added as additional categories, because only then could we clearly differentiate between "unity" and "film art." "- with all the gradations in between.

Many of the members of the association are overwhelming an author with praise, but are afraid to offer criticism. One does not want to upset or offend his friend. Not infrequently, the smallest critical note is taken personally and it is taken like a sulky child.

But why then are we in a club or an interest group? We want to be better, we want to learn, we want our films to reach the audience. Some also want to participate in competitions and of course be successful. However, this is only possible if one talks about one's own productions, and objective, constructive criticism is practiced in a calm atmosphere. No criticism "below the belt", but rather politely and as a matter of fact, as well as elsewhere at every level in our association.

We don’t want to be nit-pickers, but just draw an author's attention to mistakes, which also occur in otherwise good films. Not only film makers, but also critics learn a lot in the discussion about the formal and content criteria of a film.

At the Eurofilmer competitions, we get to know film friends from all over Europe, with whom we can engage in a lively exchange of experience. The EAK is constantly looking for new jurors who are intensively trained before their deployment. These training courses not only lead to a more knowledgeable assessment of the works of our film friends, but are also a very good opportunity to improve the prerequisites for the design of own films. Be brave!Please contact your regional representative!

A great rush in the Reinhardskirche in Hanau. 100 guests had already arrived an hour before the start, in order to secure themselves good seats. Bette Funck, from the town council welcomed the Hanau Video club and their chairman, Frieder Mallon, saying that the club's film nights had now become an integral part of the cultural scene. 11 films, a cross-section from the production of the members, was shown on a big screen and received with much applause. A great success - also for the EAK and the activities of our members beyond the Forum and Festival.